Man killed on level crossing while fleeing police chase

A man has been killed by a train as he fled police following a high-speed car chase.

The 20-year-old Romanian was struck seconds after vaulting safety barriers at a level crossing in Enfield as he tried to escape from officers.

Witnesses said his body was obliterated in the impact with what was thought to be the high-speed Stansted Express service.

The Independent Police Complaints Commission has now been informed of the death, and the case has been referred to the Metropolitan Police's professional standards department to investigate.

The death occurred yesterday afternoon when officers became suspicious of three men driving a silver Mercedes CLK car.

As they tried to pull it over, the car sped off, with onlookers claiming the resulting chase topped 130mph.

But it was brought to a sudden halt when the car stopped as the gates came down near Enfield Lock station.

Two of the men, aged 21 and 22, ran from the vehicle in opposite directions while the 20-year-old passenger jumped over the gates into the path of the train and was killed, a spokesman for the Met said.

The surviving men, understood to be brothers, were later arrested.

Sinan Kavaz, 56, a landscape gardener who lives next to the level crossing, saw the drama. He said: "The car stopped right next to the barriers and the police van pulled up next to it. Two guys from the car ran to the left and right, and the other went over the barrier. There was a policeman following but then stopped — I guess he saw the train coming."

Police sources said officers had initially wanted to stop the car because they thought it may have been a stolen vehicle. However, it later transpired the car was being shared among friends in the Romanian community, but was thought to be uninsured, and that the driver did not have a licence.

The source said: "The body was smashed to smithereens. For the relatively minor charges they might face, this is an awful outcome."

A spokesman for the Met said the pursuit lasted a "few hundred yards" along Ordnance Road. He added:

"A 21-year-old and a 22-year-old have been arrested and are currently in custody."